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Basketball vs. Wisconsin Recap

Three years ago Tim and I did a live blog of the basketball game in mid February. This was in the absolute worse part of the program’s malaise. Just to make sure we could get through it all, we got a 24 and located a half full fifth. By the end of the game all the booze was gone and we were hurling expletives and footwear at the Tommy Amaker we saw on TV. Michigan was never in that game and never really had a chance.

This year, Michigan was favored to win by 4 by the statistical guru Ken Pomeroy. Five minutes into the game I was having flashbacks to the game three years ago. The big difference is that this year I believed that Michigan could come back and win.  Ultimately, it wouldn’t happen, but that was mainly due to Wisconsin playing really good basketball and the officials reaffiirming my hatred for NCAA Basketball officials. Of course, we were watching through maize-and-blue-lenses, and there were bad call both way, but when the officiating is inconsistent enough that there are a lot of iffy calls, and random chance results in most of them going against your team, it’s hard not to get frustrated, especially when better officiaiting would have radically changed the outcome of this game.

A note to the color commentator: not calling a foul when Manny Harris gets hacked going to the basket is not “Big Ten Basketball”.  This is especially true when the next the play there’s a ticky-tack foul at the 3pt line.  Unless the color guy meant bad officiating is “Big Ten Basketball.” It’s OK to criticize poor officiating as a color commentator, and the commentary for NCAA BBall is actually even worse than for football (admittedly, our primary sport at VB).

So with that, Michigan faces off against Illinois on Sunday as a home underdog, and the path to the NCAA tournament gets a whole lot more dicey. At this point, the Wolverines can do nothing to help their case but win.

Posted under Basketball, Football

Upon Further Review: North Carolina Central

OK, I lied. This will be a 1.1 version (new additions: play-by-play broken up by substitution patterns, added notes for every shot). Hopefully 2.0 (including defensive series, + and – for individual players) will come out after the Wisconsin game. No guarantees on that, however, considering it’s New Year’s Eve.

Personnel – Merritt, Douglass, Harris, Shepherd, Sims.
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
0-0 Harris Shepherd 2 3-pt Y
The assist didn’t really create the shot, as Harris just stood there for a couple seconds before shooting. The defender still didn’t close quickly enough, because Sims set a screen.
3-0 Harris Douglass 2 3-pt N
Transition 3-ball attempt from the elbow. Good look, but not a great one.
3-0 Harris Harris Fouled Lane F
Foul prevented a big transition dunk in a 1-on-1 breakaway situation.
5-0 Sims Harris 3 Lane Y
Alley-oop dunk from Harris comes on the 3-on-1 break.
7-1 Sims Harris 1 3-pt Y
More transition offense, as NCC doubles Harris taking the ball up the court, he finds Sims in the corner. DeShawn hits the very-well defended 3-ball in rhythm.
10-3 Sims Douglass 2 3-pt N
Deshawn drifts back to the 3-point line after setting a pick. He misses from the elbow.
10-3 Harris 3 Midrange N
Manny rebounds DeShawn’s miss. He steps back and shoots from just behind the free throw line.
10-3 Sims Fouled Lane F
Sims rebounds Harris’s miss this time, and is whacked under the basket to prevent an easy put-back.
11-3 Douglass Shepherd 3 Lane Y
Jevohn makes an effort play to get the steal and prevent it from going out of bounds. Douglass finishes with the left lay-in.
13-5 Sims Harris 1 Midrange N
DeShawn misses the turnaround in the lane. It’s well-defended, but he still should have hit the shot.
Substitution: Gibson in for Sims (twisted ankle). This personnel grouping: 3:33, 13-5 (+8)
Personnel – Merritt, Douglass, Harris, Shepherd, Gibson
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
13-7 Douglass Shepherd 2 Midrange N
Douglass tries the quick turnaround off a Shepherd feed to the inside. For the first time, NCC is in zone defense, and Michigan tries to exploit that. Gibson, predictably, gets the rebound ripped out of his hands by a guard.
13-9 Harris 2 Midrange N
Manny tries to go glass after using the dribble drive to create some separation.
Substitutions: Sims in for Gibson, Lucas-Perry in for Shepherd, Novak in for Douglass, Grady in for Merritt. This personnel grouping: 1:22, 0-2 (-2)
Personnel – Grady, Novak, Harris, Lucas-Perry, Sims
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
13-9 Lucas-Perry Harris 1 3-pt Y
Because the Big Ten Network thinks a fun factoid about John Beilein is far more interesting than, like, the game, we don’t get to see this play develop. LLP still nails a pretty well-defended shot.
16-9 Lucas-Perry Grady 2 3-pt Y
Michigan’s shooters exploit the 3-2 zone of NCC.
19-9 Sims Grady Fouled Lane F
A great drive by Kelvin after the defense has been extended. He draws the post defenders and dishes to DeShawn, who is hacked to prevent an easy dunk.
21-9 Novak 2 3-pt N
Horrible turnover by NCC results in a breakway for Michigan. NCC has more defenders than Michigan does offensive players, and Novak may be wiser to slow down the offense than jack up on pff-balance 3.
21-9 Harris Grady 2 3-pt N
Manny gets the ball near the top of the key, and just kind of stands there a second before shooting a three (like the first shot of the game, but he misses this time). It would probably be better in this situation to run some offense.
Substitutions: Gibson in for Sims, CJ Lee in for Harris. This personnel grouping: 2:37, 8-0 (+8)
Personnel – Grady, Novak, Lee, Lucas-Perry, Gibson
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
21-9 Gibson Lee 3 3-pt N
Gibson is wide open, as NCC is in man, but his defender stays in the paint as Zac drifts back to the 3-point line. With that much time, it’s a shot he really should make.
Substitution: Sims in for Novak, Harris in for Lee. This personnel grouping: 1:05, 0-0

Beilein clearly wants to have at least one of Sims and Harris on the floor at all times, and preferably both. He probably gave Sims a rest knowing that a TV timeout was approaching, as he reinserts DeShawn after the commercial. When Michigan is baioled out by a foul in a low-clock situation, Harris comes back in as well.

Personnel – Grady, Lucas-Perry, Harris, Sims, Gibson.
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
21-9 Lucas-Perry Sims 2 3-pt Y
Sims bangs down low and draws in the defense against the zone. That leaves Luas-Perry wide open on the wing, and he drills the open 3-ball.
24-12 Gibson 2 Lane Y
Michigan breaks the press, Gibson drives from the wing and get a fairly smooth lay-in.
26-12 Harris Gibson 2 3-pt N
Again Manny hesitates before shooting, giving the defender a little time to close. If he shoots right away, it’s in better rhythm and he’s much more open.
26-12 Harris 2 Lane N
Harris drives through pretty much the entire defense, but misses the layup. It looks (and sounds) like there may have been some uncalled contact, but that’s still a finish he really should make.
26-12 Sims Grady 3 Lane Y
If there’s one thing Kelvin Grady does very, very well, it’s run the fast break. This time it’s a 4-on-1, and he uses a pass fake to get by the defender, then actually execute the pass for an uncontested Sims dunk.
Substitution: Merritt in for Grady, Douglass in for Lucas-Perry, Shepherd in for Gibson. This personnel grouping: 2:07, 7-3 (+4)
Personnel – Merritt, Douglass, Harris, Shepherd, Sims.
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
28-15 Douglass Merritt 2 3-pt N
Douglass is pretty open off a screen from Harris against NCC’s zone defense. His deep shot clangs off the rim.
28-15 Shepherd Harris 0 Lane N
Shepherd gets pretty good position under the basket, but the defenses is able to close and his shot is blocked.
28-17 Shepherd Merritt 2 3-pt N
Another pretty good 3-point attempt by Michigan is missed. Merritt drives to draw in the zone defense, then kicks to Shepherd.
30-20 Harris 2 Midrange N
Manny dribble-drives, and misses a leaning floater.
30-20 Harris Fouled Lane F
Manny rebounds his own miss and is fouled on the putback.
Substitutions: Grady in for Merritt, Lucas-Perry in for Douglass, Gibson in for Shepherd. This personnel grouping: 2:59, 4-8 (-2)
Personnel – Grady, Lucas-Perry, Harris, Sims, Gibson
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
32-22 Grady 2 3-pt N
Grady’s man is sagging off him to prevent the drive, so he tries to keep him honest, missing the 3-ball.
32-25 Harris 0 Lane N
Harris drives into a well-inhabited lane, where he is blocked. He’s started the game somewhat slowly from the field, so he’s probably trying to force a bit to get things going.
32-25 Harris 1 Lane N
Again with the forcing. He has DeShawn Sims under the basket in a 2-on-1 breakaway, but he drives right into his man and tried for a floater. The much smarter play would be to dish for the dunk, especially with momentum slipping away from Michigan.
32-25 Harris 3 Lane Y
The previous miss is wiped away by when Harris rebounds his own garbage and puts it in.
34-27 Lucas-Perry Harris Fouled Lane F
An Eagle undercuts Lucas-Perry as he’s in on the basket for a fast break layup. He misses one of the shots.
Substitution: Wright in for Gibson. This personnel grouping: 2:47, 3-7 (-4)
Personnel – Grady, Lucas-Perry, Harris, Wright, Sims
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
35-29 Wright Fouled Lane F
Wright makes a pretty strong drive, slightly diminishing my hatred for him. However, he should still make the layup through a weak foul (it wasn’t even close), and then the hatred-meter goes back up when he misses one from the line.
36-31 Harris 2 Lane Y
Manny drives baseline, and is probably fouled on the way up (with no call), and still makes the finish.
End of half. This personnel grouping 2:22, 3-2 (+1)
Personnel – Merritt, Douglass, Novak, Harris, Sims.
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
38-31 Douglass Harris 2 – Fouled Lane Y
Douglass finishes well on the break although he is under the backboard and takes a pretty good foul as well. He misses the and-1.
Substitution: Grady in for Merritt. This personnel grouping: 0:35, 2-0 (+2)
Personnel – Grady, Douglass, Novak, Harris, Sims
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
40-31 Douglass Novak 2 3-pt Y
Pseudo-transition bucket as NCC was settling into their zone. Douglass was pretty open from the corner.
43-33 Douglass Harris 1 3-pt N
Harris’s drive collapses the defense, and Douglass isfairly open from the same spot as the previous shot. The defender recovered much better this time around.
43-33 Harris 2 Lane Y
Manny drives to the bucket at will (as per usual) and lays it in amidst 3 defenders.
45-35 Harris Douglass 3 3-pt Y
A very good/potentially illegal screen by Deshawn Sims allows Manny to be wide open at the elbow.
48-35 Sims Grady 3 Lane Y
Grady steals the ball and takes it almost all the way by himself on the 4-on-2. He bounce passes to Sims, who has an easy lsyup.
50-35 Sims Harris 2 3-pt Y
Manny gets between the defenders and Sims on a drive, setting a kind of reverse-pick. That leaves Sims open for three, and he hits it.
53-35 Harris Sims 3 Lane Y
It’s pretty easy to get dunks when your team enjoys a 3-on-0 fast break. DeShawn gets it up to Manny, who slams it home.
55-35 Douglass Harris 1 3-pt N
Douglass drifts outside the 3-point arc against the zone, but the defender sees it coming and closes quickly. The shot misses of the front of the rim.
Substitutions: Lucas-Perry in for Douglass, Gibson in for Novak. This personnel grouping: 4:30, 15-4 (+11)
Personnel – Grady, Harris, Lucas-Perry, Sims, Gibson
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
55-37 Sims Harris 2 3-pt N
DeShawn is open from outside by way of a nice shove to his defender, but the defense recovers  and DeShawn can’t knock it down.
55-39 Gibson Harris 2 3-pt N
Manny drives under the hoop and skips it across to Gibson. The closing defender looks like it spooked Zack a bit.
55-39 Harris 1 Lane N
Not a great decision here. After rebounding Gibson’s miss, he drives it back in, and shoots an ill-advised shot surrounded by defenders.
55-39 Gibson 1 Lane N
A spin move is executed so slowly that Zack doesn’t really lose his defender with it, and he tries an awkward layup.
55-41 Gibson Harris 3 Lane Y
Great cut by Gibson, and Manny finds him for the layup.
57-43 Gibson Lucas-Perry 3 3-pt N
The Gibson-heavy streak continues, as yet another shot is set up for Zack. He misses an open 3-ball from the corner.
57-46 Harris Fouled Midrange F
Backs down his defender and tries for a turnaround. Whacked on the elbow.
Substitutions: Lee in for Harris, Sherpherd in for Gibson. This personnel grouping: 3:28, 4-11 (-7)
Personnel – Grady, Lee, Lucas-Perry, Shepherd, Sims
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
59-46 Grady Lee 2 3-pt N
Drifts to the corner, where Lee finds him. No go on the shot.
59-49 Grady Lee 3 3-pt N
LLP drives and kicks it to Lee, who swings around to Grady, wide open near the top of the key.
59-49 Lucas-Perry Grady 2 3-pt N
Nearly ariballs a pretty open shot.
59-51 Sims 2 Midrange N
LLP is caught up under the basket, and kicks it way out to sims, almost from thre–point range.
59-51 Shepherd Fouled Lane F
Rebounds Sims’s miss, and goes up, making the shot and getting fouled. He misses the free throw shot.
Substitution: Merritt in for Grady, Harris in for Lee. This personnel grouping: 2:33, 2-5 (-3)
Personnel – Merritt, Lucas-Perry, Harris, Shepherd, Sims
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
61-51 Merritt 3 3-pt N
Harris rebounds Shepherd’s free throw miss, and kicks it to a wide open Merritt from the elbow.
61-51 Shepherd Fouled Lane F
Jevohn rebounds Merritt’s 3-point miss and gets another and-1. He misses it again.
63-53 Sims 2 Lane N
Sims knifes through the defense, but shows off a Grady-esque finishing skill around the hoop.
Substitution: Grady in for Merritt, Novak in for Lucas-Perry, Douglass in for Shepherd. This personnel grouping: 2:07, 7-3 (+4)
Personnel – Grady, Novak, Douglass, Harris, Sims
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
63-53 Harris Fouled Lane F
Manny drives into the lane and is murdered on his way to the hoop.
64-53 Harris 1 Lane Y
Manny drives along the left baseline. The defender’s move could likely be described as a “foul” under most officiating crews.
66-53 Harris Fouled Lane F
Manny makes a backdoor cut as Douglass drives the lane. NC Central’s new defensive strategy against Manny is “murder him every time he gets the ball.”
68-55 Douglass Sims 2 3-pt N
Douglass hits Sims on the first half of a give-and-go, but he misses the open(ish) three-pointer on the back end.
68-55 Sims Grady 3 Lane Y
Good vision from Grady in transition, he hits Sims for the easy layup.
70-55 Harris Grady Fouled Midrange F
More killing of Harris. This time he knows it’s coming, and just tries to draw contact.
Substitution: Lucas-Perry in for Douglass. This personnel grouping: 3:07, 9-2 (+7)
Personnel – Grady, Novak, Lucas-Perry, Harris, Sims
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
Substitution: Gibson in for Sims. This personnel grouping: 0:23, 0-0 (0)
Personnel: Grady, Novak, Lucas-Perry, Harris, Gibson
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
72-55 Grady Novak 3 3-pt N
There’s a scrum for the ball, and Novak ends up scooping it to Grady. The nearest defender is on his stomach 5 feet away, but Grady can’t hit.
72-55 Harris 1 Midrange N
Harris hesitates a bit before shooting, as he has with many of his longer shots in this game. He misses the three, but that’s understandable when the defender literally grabs his left wrist as he’s shooting. Not sure which rules that isn’t a foul in, but apparently there are some out there.
72-55 Lucas-Perry Grady 1 Lane N
Again Grady shows off his good vision in transition (his obvious strength), but Lucas-Perry doesn’t go up strongly to the hoop, and the defender is able to get enough contact to at least knock him off balance.
72-55 Novak Harris 2 3-pt Y
Manny doesn’t even need to drive to draw in the defense, and he kind of heaves the ball across to Novak, who hits a somewhat-open bomb.
75-55 Lucas-Perry Harris 3 Lane N
This is a somewhat inexcusable miss by Laval. Harris finds him open on the fast break, and he just puts it over the rim off the glass.
Substitutions: Merritt in for Grady, Lee in for Novak, Wright in for Harris, Puls(!) in for Gibson. This personnel grouping: 2:37, 3-0 (+3)
Personnel: Grady, Novak, Lucas-Perry, Harris, Gibson
Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
75-55 Lee Wright 2 3-pt N
This is going to sound weird, but I’d almost have preferred if Anthony Wright had shot this ball. He had an open midrange shot, but swung it to Lee, who was less open and misses from the elbow.
End of game. This personnel grouping: 1:09, 2-2 (+0)

Individual Player Charts:

Stu Douglass
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1/1 1
Mid-range 1/1
3-pt 0/2 2/3
Zack Gibson
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 0/1 1/1 1/1
Mid-range
3-pt 0/1 0/2
Kelvin Grady
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Mid-range
3-pt 0/2 0/2

Grady was cold from 3 after Beilein gave him more minutes in an apparent vote of confidence.

Manny Harris
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1/3 2/3 2/2 4
Mid-range 0/1 0/2 0/1 2
3-pt 1/4 1/1

Manny didn’t get going until the second half, for the second game in a row. He was still making his presence felt, but came alive a bit more in the second half.

CJ Lee
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Mid-range
3-pt 0/1

Almost no shots for CJ, and his only attempt was a blocked putback.

Laval Lucas-Perry
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 0/1 0/1 1
Mid-range
3-pt 1/1 2/3

LLP showed he can hit open threes, but did next to nothing in the second half. The missed shot from the lane probably should have been made.

David Merritt
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Mid-range
3-pt 0/1

Called on to shoot very little, but made the most of his opportunities.

Zack Novak
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Mid-range
3-pt 1/2

Again, either he or Douglass gets used a lot in the offense. This time, it was Douglass’s turn.

Jevohn Shepherd
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1 2
Mid-range
3-pt 0/1

I think Shepherd is pretty effective when he’s on the floor, just not mostly in terms of his shooting.

DeShawn Sims
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 0/1 4/4 2
Mid-range 0/1 0/1
3-pt 1/1 1/3

I think Shepherd is pretty effective when he’s on the floor, just not mostly in terms of his shooting.

Anthony Wright
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1
Mid-range
3-pt

Again, apologies for the delay in getting version 2 of the UFR running. Keep suggesting features for it, and I’ll take them into consideration.

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Preview: Wisconsin

Or: Tim’s foray into tempo-free statistics.

Michigan takes on conference foe Wisconsin today at 2PM in Crisler Arena. The game can be seen on ESPN2.

Tempo-Free and efficiency comparison (if you need an explanation of what any of these things mean, head to KenPom’s website):

Michigan v. Wisconsinl: National Ranks
Category Michigan Wisconsin Advantage
Mich eFG% v. Wis eFG% D 80 142 M
Mich eFG% D v. Wis eFG% 71 81 M
Mich TO% v. Wis Def TO% 11 256 MMM
Mich Def TO% v. Wis TO% 132 36 W
Mich OReb% v. Wis DReb% 191 11 WW
Mich DReb% v. Wis OReb% 256 172 W
Mich FTR v. Wis Opp FTR 156 25 WW
Mich Opp FTR v. Wis FTR 16 82 M
Mich AdjO v. Wis AdjD 16 81 M
Mich AdjD v. Wis AdjO 134 45 W

Differences of more than 100 places in the rankings garner two-letter advantages, differences of more than 200 get a third.

For the first time in a while, Michigan has a distinct deficit in multiple categories. Many of these are predictable for a perimeter-oriented team: Wisconsin is much better at rebounding and Michigan doesn’t get to the free throw line very often. Defensively, Michigan doesn’t force as many turnovers as one might hope to give them an advantage over Wisconsin. This is somewhat odd because the 1-3-1 is designed to force the opponent to give up the ball, but the Wolverines have been going with more man-to-man defense of late, so that may be a partial explanation. Overall, Wisconsin is a well-rounded team, ranking in the top 100 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Michigan is still the favorite though, and Ken Pomeroy predicts a 67-62 Wolverine triumph, with a 70% chance of victory.

In the game plans, the main area that is strongly correlated with both Michigan’s and Wisconsin’s efficiencies is Wolverine effective field goal percentage. Since Michigan has an advantage in it (however slight it may be), the Wolverines may have an advantage in performing well on offense today. The turnover rate for Wisconsin may also play a role. The Badgers have an advantage of nearly 100 places in the national rankings. Regardless, this is definitely the most evenly-matched game Michigan has played in a while.

Of course, with a team in the national spotlight, and one in Michigan’s own conference, the key players will be more known to Wolverines fans, and there are bound to be more of them. Joe Krabbenhoft, Marcus Landry, Trevon Hughes, and Jason Bohannon are all key players for the Badgers. Each has played in at least 73% of available minutes (the next closest player has less than 50%). Landry has star power, and is most mentioned in the national media, but it is Hughes who leads the Badgers in offensive efficiency, eFG%, and free throw rate. The point guard also (obviously) leads the team in assists, and really makes things go for Wisconsin.

This should be the first real test for Michigan in quite some time (since Oakland? Duke even?), and it’s time for the Wolverines to put up or shut up. Has this Michigan team been putting in a lackadaisical effort because they knew they would beat inferior teams anyway? Or are they really just not as good as we think/hope? A big win today would be a great start to making a run through conference season, and hopefully into the tournament.

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UFR Delay

So, now I understand why Brian takes a few days to do a football UFR. Basketball games are far less time-consuming, but it’s still ridiculously hard to finish them in any timely fashion.

The NC Central UFR will come tom orrow sometime, followed by the Wisconsin preview. The NCC UFR is also going to be a 1.1 version, rather than a 2.0. Apologies for the delay, and hopefully once I get into the groove of trying to hammer them out, I’ll be able to complete them in a much quicker manner.

Posted under Analysis, Basketball

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2010 Recruiting Update 12-29-08

Following up on the 2009 recruiting update from a day ago, here’s its 2010 counterpart. The recruiting board esta aqui.

2010 Michigan Recruit Baquer SayedAdded: MI WR Baquer Sayed. Michigan already has a couple of wideouts in the class of 2010, but Sayed seems like he may be a pretty good one, and he’s right in the Wolverines’ backyard:

“Very rarely do we have a 6-2 receiver that can run, jump and catch the ball the way (Sayed) can. I don’t know if he is going to run a 40-yard dash in front of a college scout and give him a blazing time [4.6 range]. Baquer can improve that, definitely. That is my job and the rest of our coaching staff’s job to get him to do that.” [Sayed’s coach Fouad Walker]

“I think, as a high school receiver, Sayed could be the best in the state,” said [Scout analyst Allen] Trieu. “Prospect wise, Jackson brings a little more size and Banks brings a little more explosiveness. However, I think Sayed has the best ball skills of the three.”

Sayed also mentioned potentially playing both basketball and football in college, though he would choose football if he could play only one. His recruiting has been slow to start so far, but looks to be picking up:

Sayed doesn’t hold any offers at the moment, but Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Indiana, UCLA and Bowling Green all have sent letters expressing interest.

Also added to the board: PA CB Cullen Christian. He has been offered by Michigan ($).

Michigan will continue to look to Pahokee for talent in the future, and DL Antonio Ford may be one possibility in the class of 2010. SoFlaFootball brings the info:

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Ford has the impressive frame and long limbs coaches look for in lineman. The talented lineman is still maturing and his size is only a fraction of what he will end up being in the future.

Ford is currently offerless, but is getting communications from Duke, West Virginia, and Maryland.

OH LB Scott McVey recently visited Ohio State, where he enjoyed himself greatly (info in header). All the news on McVey has been rather Buckeye-centric lately, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up committing to the Bucks.

FL DB LaMarcus Joyner has a pretty solid top 3 of Florida, FSU, and Ohio State (in that order). He is not considering MIami of Florida, and it will be interesting to see if any other schools (namely Michigan) will be able to break his top group’s stranglehold on his recruitment.

2010 Michigan Recruit Sam BErgenPA LB Sam Bergen tore his ACL this past season, but that won’t stop him from being a bigtime recruit:

Bergen was, and strives to be again, the top linebacker in the Mountain Valley Conference. Despite the injury, Bergen, like his older brother Max, who is a redshirt freshman at Stanford, remains a top recruit — and he’s got two binders of letters from universities across the country to prove it.

As of now, his favorite schools include but are not limited to Notre Dame, Penn State, Illinois, Rutgers, Stanford and Boston College.

FL RB Eduardo Clements sat down for an interview with SoFlaFootball. He currently favors FSU, Boston College, and Miami of Florida. He’s trying to put on some weight going into next season to have a more successful year.

FL WR/Slot Chris Dunkley talks offers with SoFlaFootball, but he refuses to discuss a favorite. He says all of the schools that he is considering are even, though it seems Florida and Georgia may be just a bit out front. He is considering taking summer visits to USC and West Virginia.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Preview: North Carolina Central

Or: Tim’s foray into tempo-free statistics.

Michigan takes on winless North Carolina Central tonight at 7PM in Crisler Arena. The game can be seen on Big Ten Network.

Tempo-Free and efficiency comparison (if you need an explanation of what any of these things mean, head to KenPom’s website):

Michigan v. North Carolina Central: National Ranks
Category Michigan FGCU Advantage
Mich eFG% v. NCC eFG% D 63 333 MMM
Mich eFG% D v. NCC eFG% 86 337 MM
Mich TO% v. NCC Def TO% 14 107 M
Mich Def TO% v. NCC TO% 137 333 MM
Mich OReb% v. NCC DReb% 202 340 MM
Mich DReb% v. NCC OReb% 263 292 M
Mich FTR v. NCC Opp FTR 183 237 M
Mich Opp FTR v. NCC FTR 27 315 MMM
Mich AdjO v. NCC AdjD 6(!) 342 MMMM(!)
Mich AdjD v. NCC AdjO 130 341 MMM

Differences of more than 100 places in the rankings garner two-letter advantages, differences of more than 200 get a third.

NC Central is dead-last in the KenPom ratings, so its entirely understandable that Michigan has pretty significant advantages in every area. The Wolverines have their first 4-letter advantage of the year, and it’s in an important category: their offensive efficiency against NCC’s defensive efficiency. The only areas in which Michigan has just one-letter advantages are turnover rate on offense, defensive rebounding (astoundingly, they have more than 100 places in separation between the teams in Michigan’s offensive rebounding), and free throw rate on offense. Ken Pomeroy predicts a 96-41 Wolverines victory, with 0% chance of an upset in a 66-possession game.

Taking a look at the game plans, Michigan’s effective field goal percentage against NC Central’s defense should be a good indicator of how the team’s overall offensive performance will go. Considering Michigan has a huge advantage in that area, it should be a good day for the Michigan offense. On paper, this looks to be a great offensive day for Michigan. The one area NCC is fairly good in is blocking opponents’ shots, but that will likely not play a huge role against a perimeter-shooting team like the Wolverines.

NCC has three key players, all of whom have played more than 80% of the possible minutes so far this year. Stevy Worah-Ozimo is the tallest player on the team at 6-9. He is the team’s center, and hasn’t attempted a three-point shot yet this year. Freshman Jamar Briscoe is a Grady-sized (5-10) point guard, and leads the team in assists. The other key player is Vincent Davis, who, at 6-2, would normally be considered a guard, but he may be more of a wing player on such a size-challenged team (3rd shortest in Division I, ahead of only Nebraska and SIU-Edwardsville, the second of which I believe is a data-entry error). The rest of the minutes are filled fairly evenly by the other 5 players on the team.

With the gaps in talent and depth between these teams, it would be surprising if NC Central gave MIchigan much of a game. Of course, stranger things have happened, so be sure to check out the game at 7 tonight on BTN. If nothing else, it should provide an opportunity to see Michigan look like world-beaters.

Posted under Analysis, Basketball

2009 Recruiting Update 12-29-08

Since there is so much recruiting info for me to catch up on, I’ll separate the 2009 and 2010 information this time, in order to fit as much stuff in as I can. The board lives here, and can always be found via the left sidebar.

I’ll start with the bombshell-ish info: William Campbell, thought to be heavily leaning to Michigan despite his decommitment, has basically eliminated the Wolverines from contention upon his arrival at the Army All-American game (free Rivals video). I’ll leave him on the board for now, mostly out of hope, rather than any actual fact. From the interview, it sounds like LSU is going to get the hat pulled out by Campbell on Saturday. :(

He won’t be added to the recruiting board, as per VB policy (soon to change for the 2010 board, because it’s tough keeping track of these guys without adding all their info to the board), but LA WR Travante Stallworth, an Auburn commit, is getting some attention from Michigan (info in header). It certainly sounds like he may be swayed, if another school really wants him (info in header again).

SC DE Sam Montgomery is still on the board, though he seems far less enthused about Michigan (we’re near Detroit!) than he did earlier in the recruiting process, and has named LSU his leader. He was involved in the Shrine Bowl (warning: super fluffy), and though the article’s title is “Montgomery stays patient in the recruiting process,” there isn’t one bit of information about recruiting, so it’s just something to read if you want nice quotes about a kid, including his stats:

Montgomery, 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, had 111 tackles including 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery this season while mainly playing linebacker. He played on the varsity team for the past three years.

…and his altruistic side:

“I’m going to keep on battling until I make it to the (NFL), so I can give some of my signing bonus (to the Shriners Hospitals for Children). This will be one of the main organizations I give to.”

Although he took in a South Carolina bowl practice,  they are in the “middle of the pack” with everyone else in his final group, save favorite LSU. Speaking of Montgomery, this article also mentions him, but more interesting are the following two tidbits of information:

DB Dre Kirkpatrick (6-3, 190) of Gadsden, Ala., will visit Alabama, Florida and Texas for sure in January. He’s only planning four visits and for the final trip he’s considering Clemson, Southern California, LSU, Michigan and Auburn… DB Jaron [sic] Hosley  (5-10, 172) of Delray Beach, Fla., will visit Ohio State, Michigan, South Florida and Clemson in January.

After not mentioning Michigan throughout most of the summer, Kirkpatrick has picked up interest in the Wolverines again, it seems. Lord knows we need him. Jayron Hosley‘s Ohio state visit is confirmed by Bucknuts.

JC DE Pernell McPhee was though to be leaning to Michigan following his official visit, and the former Pahokee Blue Devil did not sign with Mississippi State (where he has been softly committed) on JC signing day. However, he has also been to Florida on an official visit recently, and the subheadline “Will Pernell McPhee stay with Mississippi State or will he play for another SEC program?” makes it sound like maybe the Wolverines missed their opportunity with Pernell.

OH OL Henry Conway was at the spring game, but hasn’t really been on the Michigan fan’s radar since. However, he is leaving a date open for an official visit, and will take it if the Wolverines end up offering him (info in header).

UNC CB commit Josh Hunter is still considering a Michigan official, and he’s looking at the January 17th weekend.

LSU insiders don’t exactly seem to be kicking themselves for missing on LA DT commit DeQuinta Jones, but they certainly think he’ll be a good player down the road:

The best defensive lineman in the state that no one ever talks about is Bastrop’s Dequinta Jones (6’3 275), who runs a 4.8 forty and can play the game as well as any in the country. Jones is committed to Michigan, and I predict he will start after one year and play as a true freshman for the Wolverines.

I assume this assertion is not in any way intended to imply that he is not a soft commit (as has been rumored), but rather a compliment of the caliber of player he is. Michigan fans are certainly excited to see DD in maize and Blue.

Next on the list of “I still believe in Michigan” articles of current commits: Fitzgerald Toussaint. It’s not just fluff though. There are three videos in the article, so check it out.

I’ve added LA LB Barkevious Mingo to the board. Sam Webb lets us know he plans to visit January 9th weekend.

And of course, the day I talked only about QBs, I forgot to mention them, but I’ve decided to add A.J. Westendorp and Nader Furrha to the board. Both are likely preferred-walkon candidates, though if the QB recruiting situation becomes extra-dire, one of them might get offered.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Upon Further Review: Oakland

OK, obviously this is very early in a development stage, but I’d like to get it published for the sake of soliciting comments and suggestions from readers. Of course, the inspiration comes from MGoBlog’s UFR of football games. Down the line (likely in the next edition of UFR, unless people don’t like it enough to justify continuing the feature), I plan to add defensive possessions, and certainly have the “notes” section be a bit more thorough (notice that the later in the game this UFR goes, the more notes there are). To split it up a bit, the next one will be put into groups by personnel (which would be the “drives” in Brian’s football UFRs). This first edition grades only the shots taken by Michigan, which I hope to expand to entire possessions in the future.

The very beginnings of this started with the box score, then I sort of filled in the details watching the game. The “Score” colmun indicates the score of the game prior to the shot in question being taken. Shooter, Assist, and Made should be self-evident. The assister is unofficial (i.e. not from the box score), but taken from watching the game. Range indicates where the shot was taken from. Currently, it’s only divided into 3-pt, mid-range, and lane, but I’m certainly open to tweaking those indications. Quality is the only  entirely subjective measure on my part, and indicates how open the shooter is. “3” is a shot that is wide open, and not contested at all. “0” is a shot that is blocked, and has no chance of going in. “1” is a well-defended shot with a hand in the face, and “2” is in between 1 and 3, predictably.

Score Shooter Assist Quality Range Made?
0-0 Douglass Shepherd 3 3-pt Y
3-2 Douglass Harris 3 3-pt Y
6-4 Douglass Harris 3 3-pt Y
9-7 Merritt Harris 2 3-pt Y
12-10 Sims 2 Lane N
Tries a reverse to avoid the defender.
12-10 Sims Fouled Lane F
Rebound of previous miss
14-10 Douglass 2 3-pt N
14-12 Sims Grady 1 Midrange N
14-15 Grady Douglass 2 3-pt Y
17-15 Sims 0 Lane N
Blocked
17-15 Novak 1 Lane N
17-15 Douglass Lee 3 3-pt N
Pump faked to get his guy to pass him
17-15 Grady 3 3-pt N
Uncovered leading the 3-on-1 fastbreak – not a great decision. Confused and shot from NBA range.
17-15 Novak Harris 2 Midrange Y
From the top corner of the paint, turnaround
19-15 Novak Gibson 2 3-pt N
19-15 Lucas-Perry Gibson 3 3-pt Y
Gibson rebounds Novak’s miss, gets it to LLP.
22-15 Lucas-Perry Gibson 2 3-pt Y
25-15 Gibson Harris 3 Midrange Y
Entry to Harris draws the defense, leavin Gibson wide open
27-15 Harris 1 Midrange N
27-15 Sims 2 Lane Y
Rebounds Manny’s miss.
29-15 Lucas-Perry Merritt 3 3-pt Y
32-18 Sims 3 Midrange Y
Turnaround when his man tried to flop to draw a charge.
34-20 Merritt Harris 2 3-pt Y
Manny’s drive draws the defense
37-22 Douglass 2 3-pt N
Pumps to get his man by him, but waits long enough for the guy to kinda recover
37-22 Lee 0 Lane N
Rebounds Douglass’s miss, but is blocked from behind.
37-26 Lucas-Perry Harris 2 3-pt Y
Manny draws the defense into the paint, LLP’s shot rattles home.
40-28 Lucas-Perry 3 3-pt N
40-30 Grady 2 3-pt N
Kind of a force from NBA range.
40-30 Sims 2 Midrange N
Same possession as previous. Turnaround.
40-30 Sims 3 Lane Y
Dunkage.
42-30 Harris 2 Lane N
Drives and forces a floater in the lane
42-30 Novak 2 Lane N
Misses the putback of Harris’s shot
42-32 Lucas-Perry 3 3-pt N
Off the dribble from a Gibson screen.
42-34 Harris 3 Lane Y
Dunk off a steal on the break.
44-36 Merritt 2 3-pt N
Kinda a chuck
44-36 Shepherd Fouled Lane F
Foul prevented a dunk.
45-36 Sims 2 Midrange Y
Turnaround from just outside the paint.
47-38 Novak Merritt 3 3-pt N
Unguarded in the zone defense off Merritt’s drive.
47-39 Douglass Harris 2 3-pt Y
Harris drive opens the defense, but a defender was closing as he shot.
50-39 Sims 3 Midrange Y
On the 4-on-2 fastbreak, should have probably drawn the defender and dished to Harris, Douglass, or Novak. He needed to force the action.
50-39 Sims Harris 2 Lane Y
Off a botched alley-oop. He pro-hopped to get space and hooked it in.
52-41 Sims Novak 2 Midrange Y
Baseline jumper.
54-42 Harris Fouled Lane F
Forcing the action a bit, is bailed out by the blocking foul.
56-42 Novak Harris 1 Lane Y
Beautiful dish by Harris on the break, but Novak finished with a defender all over him pretty much under the basket
58-45 Lucas-Perry 2 Lane N
Drives and misses a fairly easy floater.
58-45 Novak Lee 1 3-pt N
Off a possession from rebounding Novak’s miss by Gibson. Novak chucks one with two guys in his face.
58-48 Gibson 2 Midrange Y
Not that open, but he nails it.
60-51 Harris 1 3-pt N
Ill-advised shot, he was trying to draw the foul.
60-51 Sims 2 Lane Y
Tips in the alley-oop attempt. Announcers expound upon this happening in retarded fashion.
62-54 Sims 1 Midrange N
Half floater, half jumper, all ugly
62-54 Harris 2 – Fouled Lane Y
Rebounds DeShawn’s miss, and gets the +1
65-57 Harris 3 Midrange N
Almost a 3, it rims out.
65-57 Sims 2 Lane N
Misses the putback of Harris’s miss.
65-59 Gibson Merritt 2 3-pt N
Merritt double-team opens Gibson on the wing.
65-59 Sims Fouled Lane F
Rebound of Gibson’s miss.
67-61 Shepherd 2 3-pt N
Manny’s drive opens up the floor.
67-63 Sims Douglass 3 Midrange Y
Turnaround jumper
69-65 Harris Gibson 3 Lane Y
Backdoor cut. Essentially an uncontested dunk, but he just lays it in.
71-65 Gibson Douglass Fouled Lane F
Hacked on a 3-on-2 breakaway
73-67 Novak Harris 3 3-pt Y
Defenders lose him in the zone. If Gibson screens his man, Zack would be even more open.
76-67 Grady Douglass 2 3-pt Y
Not quite a fast break, but they didn’t set the offense up before Grady hits this one.
79-69 Harris Fouled Midrange F
Shoved early on the drive to the hoop.
81-69 Novak Grady 3 Lane Y
LOL whiteboy alley-oop LOL
83-72 Harris Grady 1 Lane Y
Michigan breaks the press, Manny actually gets whacked on the finish.
85-72 Lucas-Perry Fouled Lane F
Laval is mugged on the way to an uncontested dunk. It’s called an intentional foul.
87-72 Harris Fouled Midrange F
Hand-checked as he’s blowing by his guy.
89-72 Novak 2 3-pt N
Manny draws in the defense, but Novak misses the 3 with a defender closing in.
89-74 Harris Midrange N
Chucks it with the shotclock (intentionally, Tommy Amaker, calm down) running down.

Shot quality shows multiple aspects of a player’s game. First, a guy who shoots a lot of “3” shots either can create his own shot, or only shoots when he is wide open. A guy like Manny, on the other hand, will shoot (and make) a lot of “1”s and “2”s. Players who are shooting “1”s from three-point range are probably making poor decisions, unless the shot clock or other factors are coming into play. Shooting “1”s from the paint is more forgiveable, because there is a much better likelihood of getting fouled. It is also more acceptable to miss “1”s and “2”s. If a guy is missing a ton of “3”s, he’s probably just a bad shooter for that game.If you have any other ways these factors can be interpreted, please leave it in the comments. I’ll be interested to see what you can figure out.

Individual Player Charts:

Stu Douglass
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Mid-range
3-pt 1/3 3/4

After the hot start, Stu was little-used.

Zach Gibson
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1
Mid-range 1/1 1/1
3-pt 0/1

Quiet day for Gibson.

Kelvin Grady
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Mid-range
3-pt 2/3 0/1

All of Grady’s shots were from 3, but he was using his quickness in other ways: he finished with 2 assists (and one more would-be on a missed shot).

Manny Harris
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1/1 1/2 2/2 2*
Mid-range 0/2 0/1 2
3-pt 0/1

Manny didn’t get going until the second half. The asterisk next to fouls indicates that he made one of the shots on which he was fouled (need to figure out a better notation for that). One of his midrange misses was a chuck on a low shot clock.

CJ Lee
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1
Mid-range
3-pt

Almost no shots for CJ, and his only attempt was a blocked putback.

Laval Lucas-Perry
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 0/1 1
Mid-range
3-pt 2/2 2/4

LLP showed he can hit open threes, but did next to nothing in the second half. The missed shot from the lane probably should have been made.

David Merritt
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane
Mid-range
3-pt 2/3

Called on to shoot very little, but made the most of his opportunities.

Zack Novak
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1/2 0/1 1/1
Mid-range 1/2
3-pt 0/1 0/2 1/2

Either he or Douglass seems to be hot from outside in each game. This time, it was Douglass’s turn. However, Novak’s numbers show more desire (ability?) to score in ways other than spotting up for 3.

Jevohn Shepherd
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1
Mid-range
3-pt 0/1

Little playing time from Jevohn after a pretty good game against Eastern. Might he get a little less playing time now that Beilein seems to like a small lineup?

DeShawn Sims
Location 0 1 2 3 F
Lane 1 3/5 1/1 2
Mid-range 0/2 2/3 3/3
3-p-

Good day for DeShawn. He has proven that he can absolutely turn it on when the team needs him.

Obviously this is a very rough draft, and maybe I should have waited until it was a bit more complete to publish, but I’d really like to hear your comments on it to improve it for the future. The next edition of UFR will be a 2.0 with vast improvements, and hopefully it just needs tweaks from there.

Please please please give me your suggestions and concerns with this. Anything is on the table: style, content, aesthetics, and any other feedback you can come up with.

Posted under Analysis, Basketball

Big Ten Begins Bowl Season with a Whimper

I originally planned to cover the Big Ten’s bowl season in a little detail, if only for something to talk about with Michigan’s lack of making a bowl game. However, I quickly realized that I didn’t really care about the rest of the conference, and decided not to do game-by-game previews of the entire conference.

That said, national perception of the Big Ten is relevant to the Michigan Wolverines, as ESPN pundits and national columnists have ever-more influence on the polls, and they use their platform to idiotically paint teams with the broad brush of conference loyalty. Going into next year, Michigan will get a better reputation by association on the basis of a strong bowl season by their conference compatriots. Of course, that means little until the results on the field bear out an overall improved level of play for the league and the team itself.

Last year, I went to the Champs Sports Bowl between Michigan State and a Boston College team that I thought was overrated for much of the year. The underdog Spartans gave the Golden Eagles a much better game than was expected, and likely should have won, save for a downright Hoyer-esque performance by… uh… Hoyer (awkward!). That set the table for a generally poor postseason by the league, save a few bright spots from the likes of Michigan and… Purdue.

This year, the Big Ten is in a fairly tough situation, as its teams are underdogs in 6 of their 7 bowl games. Wisconsin got the league started with a shellacking by the favored Florida State Seminoles. Wisconsin really shot themselves in the foot early in the game, and Bret Bielema is slowly proving himself to be the leader of some of the most poorly-coached major football teams in America. Of course, after the early choking by Wisconsin, Florida State rode the wave of momentum to a big win. (Side-rant time: Everyone who really follows college football knows the ACC is so even all over the place because it’s essentially just a mediocre league. Then you have talking heads like Todd McShay and Mel Kiper telling everyone to look at it more like an NFL division, where all these TEH AWESOMEZ teams are beating up on each other, and in the end somebody ends up with a playoff spot. Is there any way to do a better job removing any and all appeal from the college game? Of course, maybe the ACC is “good” (and the bowl games have started to bear this out so far), but that does nothing more than show me why parity in sports may be the most boring thing possible).

Of course, there are 6 games remaining for the Big Ten, and none loom larger than the two BCS contests. Big Ten squads have struggled in the Bowl Championship Series of late, with Ohio State dropping two consecutive National Title games, and Michigan laying an egg against USC in 2007, and Illinois simply overmatched by the Trojans this January. If Penn State and/or Ohio State can pull off an upset, it can go a long way to repairing the reputation of the conference.

Posted under Football

Big Ten 2009 Recruiting Class Rankings 12-27-08

Action since last rankings:
12-21-08 Wisconsin gains commitment from Pat Muldoon.
12-23-08 Minnesota loses commitment from Daryl Robinson.

New Rankings:

#1 Ohio State – 24 commits
LB ***** Dorian Bell
RB **** Jaamal Berry
DE **** Melvin Fellows
CB **** CJ Barnett
WR **** James Jackson
MLB **** Storm Klein
MLB **** Jordan Whiting
RB **** Jordan Hall
OG **** Corey Linsley
OT **** Jack Mewhort
S **** Jamie Wood
WR **** Justin Green
RB **** Carlos Hyde
CB **** Corey Brown
WR **** Chris Fields
CB **** Dominic Clarke
WR *** Duron Carter
DE *** Jonathan Newsome
TE *** Reid Fragel
DT *** Adam Bellamy
FB *** Adam Homan
LB *** Zach Boren
OL *** Sam Longo
DT *** Johnny Simon
#2 Michigan – 20 commits
CB **** Justin Turner
QB **** Tate Forcier
OL **** Taylor Lewan
RB **** Fitzgerald Toussaint
S **** Vladimir Emilien
WR **** Jeremy Gallon
OL **** Michael Schofield
DT **** DeQuinta Jones
DE **** Anthony LaLota
DE **** Craig Roh
DT **** Pearlie Graves
WR **** Cameron Gordon
S *** Isaiah Bell
WR *** DeWayne Peace
RB *** Teric Jones
S *** Mike Jones
LB *** Brandin Hawthorne
RB *** Vincent Smith
S *** Thomas Gordon
K ** Brendan Gibbons
#3 Notre Dame – 18 commits
RB ***** Cierre Wood
WR **** Shaquelle Evans
OL **** Chris Watt
RB **** Theo Riddick
DT **** Tyler Stockton
OL **** Alex Bullard
CB **** Marlon Pollard
LB **** Dan Fox
OL **** Zach Martin
LB **** Zeke Motta
S *** Nyshier Oliver
S *** EJ Banks
TE *** Tyler Eifert
MLB *** Carlo Calabrese
P *** Ben Turk
K ** Nicholas Tausch
TE ** Jake Golic
OL * Jordan Cowart
#4 Michigan State – 18 commits
RB **** Edwin Baker
RB **** Larry Caper
SLB **** Chris Norman
OL **** David Barrent
WR **** Donald Spencer
DT **** Blake Treadwell
QB **** Andrew Maxwell
OL **** Nate Klatt
LB **** Jeremy Gainer
WR *** Dana Dixon
LB *** Tyquan Hammock
OL *** Micajah Reynolds
WR *** Patrick White
DE *** Dan France
LB *** Denicos Allen
WR *** Bennie Fowler
TE ** Derek Hoebing
DE * Corey Freeman
#5 Penn State – 22 commits
QB **** Kevin Newsome
LB **** Gerald Hodges
OT **** Eric Shrive
CB **** Darrell Givens
DE **** Sean Stanley
S **** Derrick Thomas
S *** Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
S *** Malcolm Willis
C *** Ty Howle
CB *** Stephon Morris
WR *** Brandon Felder
OT *** Adam Gress
OL *** Nate Cadogan
RB *** Curtis Dukes
LB *** Glenn Carson
ATH *** Devon Smith
K *** Anthony Fera
QB ** Curtis Drake
OG ** Frank Figueroa
WR ** Christian Kuntz
OT ** Mark Arcidiacono
DE ** Garry Gilliam
#6 Illinois – 19 commits
WR **** Kraig Appleton
DT **** Lendell Buckner
OT **** Leon Hill
QB **** Nathan Scheelhaase
RB **** Bud Golden
WR **** Terry Hawthorne
DE **** Craig Drummond
OL *** Andrew Carter
OL *** Aaron Gress
FB *** Greg Fuller
OL *** Hugh Thornton
DT *** Tank Carradine
WR *** Steve Hull
S ** Tommie Hopkins
CB ** Joelil Thrash
OL ** Jake Feldmeyer
LB ** Darryl Lee
TE ** Justin Lattimore
DE * Tom Kynard
#8 Wisconsin – 18 commits
DT **** Jared Kohout
DE **** Shelby Harris
DE **** David Gilbert
RB **** Montee Ball
LB *** Conor O’Neill
DE *** Tyler Dippel
OG *** Ryan Groy
QB *** Jon Budmayr
OT *** Zac Matthias
TE *** Brian Wozniak
MLB *** Chris Borland
OL *** Travis Frederick
LB *** AJ Fenton
WR *** Jeff Duckworth
DE *** Pat Muldoon
OL ** Casey Dehn
S ** Jason Peprah
CB ** Darious Thomas
#7 Minnesota – 17 commits
RB **** Hasan Lipscomb
WR **** Hayo Carpenter
QB *** Moses Alipate
C *** Ed Olsen
OT *** Josh Campion
WR *** Victor Keise
OL *** Brooks Michel
LB *** Kendell Gregory-McGhee
DB *** Kerry Lewis
TE *** Ra’Shede Hageman
DT *** Joey Searcy
DE *** Matt Garin
OL *** Jeff Wills
S *** Kenny Watkins
Ath *** Bryant Allen
LB *** Brent Singleton
DE ** Nick Rengel
K ** Dan Orseske
#9 Indiana – 14 commits
QB *** Edward Wright-Baker
DT *** Adam Replogle
WR *** Jamonne Chester
WR *** Duwyce Wilson
OL *** Charles Chapman
QB *** Dustin Kiel
OL *** Colin Rodkey
CB *** Lawrence Barnett
K *** Mitch Ewald
S *** Nick Zachery
S *** Demetrius Carr
S *** Ted Bolser
OL *** Pat McShane
DE ** Javon Cornley
#10 Northwestern – 16 commits
OL **** Patrick Ward
QB *** Evan Watkins
RB *** Mike Trumpy
DE *** Anthony Battle
LB *** Will Studlien
OL *** Taylor Paxton
DB *** Davion Fleming
RB *** Arby Fields
LB *** Roderick Goodlow
OL ** Brian Smith
WR ** Drew Moulton
LB ** Tim Riley
LB ** Tyler Scott
DE ** John Plasencia
K ** Jeff Budzein
S * Cooper Gerami
#11 Purdue – 16 commits
RB **** Al-Terek McBurse
DT *** Eric McDaniel
DE *** Shayon Green
TE *** Gabrison Holmes
WR *** Xavier Reese
DE *** Antwon Higgs
DT ** Cody Davis
DE ** Trevor Foy
S ** Ishmael Aristide
WR ** Gary Bush
QB ** Rob Henry
WR ** Josh Johnson
DT ** Brandon Taylor
DB ** Chris Quinn
DT ** Xavier Melton
QB * Najee Tyler
#12 Iowa – 12 commits
WR **** Keenan Davis
RB **** Brandon Wegher
WR *** Jordan Cotton
FB *** Brad Rogers
OL ** Drew Clark
DT ** Scott Covert
OL ** Brett Van Sloten
TE ** Anthony Schiavone
LB ** Tyler Harrell
LB ** Shane DiBona
LB ** Martin Hopkins
CB ** Joshua Brown

Posted under Football, Recruiting